Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Legend Begins
by Narik
Summary: All legends have a beginning. This one is no different. Three pokemon lives will no longer be the same after this legend begins. Their purpose is unclear at the beginning, then, they find something. They now adays have nicknames, the Vengeance, the Torn Heart, and the New Purpose.
1. Princess Maya

**Hello there! This is my PMD fanfic! Hope you like it!**

Prologue: Princess Maya

Another job posting, the work never seemed to die down now. The Snivy who owned the base that got the request came out and checked the mail. Sure enough, just another job request. The snivy sighed, nothing exciting ever happened around here! To be honest, it was getting quite frustrating.

"Falio, what's your problem?" A totodile asked. It was Shino, Falio's best friend. The Totodile and Snivy had been great friends since their late childhood. Now, they were working on their job to become the world's greatest exploration team. Sure, it was going to be tough, but Shino and Falio were sure they could do it! However, the pace of their work had been slow so far. Sure, the locals knew about them, but other than that they were nobodies. Sometimes, it upset the duo when they acknowledged it.

"Just another job request. I swear, does ANYTHING fun happen around here? This place is staler than month old bread left in the sun!" Falio said. His statement got a chuckle from Shino. Realizing the hilarity of what he said, Falio began to laugh. "Ah, a laugh, I almost forgot what it feels like!" Falio said.

"Agreed, there hasn't been to much to laugh about. I mean with the king falling ill like that. Everyone worries about him. Heck, even outside kingdoms are beginning to worry about him! I mean, it's getting pretty crazy. I'm beginning to think we may need a new king!" Falio looked over to his friend.

"Don't say that! You CAN'T say that. The last king caused so much grief for our parents. I do not wish for that family to return to the throne. The streets were too quiet when they were in rule according to father," Falio said. As he said that, someone walked up to them. This Empoleon had Bisharp guards protecting him. Who was h-, wait a second! "M-Milord! What brings you here?" Falio and Shino said at the same moment.

It turned out that Empoleon was none other than the king! "Ah, so I see you do know your manners. Anyways, this involves my daughter, Maya." A Piplup walked in front of him, taking a proud pose. Which she got a silent glare from her father for.

"Ah, what could we do for Princess Maya?" Shino asked. He got a bump from Falio, whom had noticed Shino looking at Maya a bit too long. However, Maya just rolled her eyes. Did this Snivy think her dumb enough to not notice?

"I would like you to let her join your team. I had been telling her to pick a team, and she wanted a low profile team. So, I'd also like to ask you to not call her princess. Kind of defeats the purpose, huh?" Falio nodded in response. The king nodded back before beginning to talk to Maya. "Now, please stay out of trouble aalright dear?" Before Empoleon could leave Shino asked something.

"Milord, i thought you were sick!" Empoleon merely laughed.

"I still am, but just in case I should pass, I want my daughter to be happy. She has always dreamed of being an explorer! Amazed I made it out here? I am to! It's like the great arceus himself wishes for Maya to be here!" Shino and Falio still thought there to be something fishy about the whole thing. With a wave, Empoleon and his guards set off. There was a bit of an awkward silence between Maya, Falio, and Shino. None of them knew what to say!

"So, uh, what are your names?" Maya asked.

"I'm Falio and Mr. Gogo eyes here is Shino," Falio said. Then, the snivy recieved a stomp on the foot from the totodile.

"Hehe, yea, if you think you get away with staring at me like that," Maya then slapped Shino across his face. "you got another thing coming." Falio began laughing so hard, he thought he might bust a lung. It would be fun seeing his friend try to win Maya's affection. Although, it was a bit strange, he seemed to not even care that she was a princess. "Anyways, what's that you got in your hand Falio?" Maya asked the snivy.

"Oh, I almost forgot! This is our job request. Hmm, the dungeon we're going to seems easy enough, want to come with us?" Maya nodded in response. "Well, take this and put it on you." Falio reached into the treasure bag and handed a bow, not like the weapon, but the kind you wear, to Maya.

"Ok, what's it for?" Maya asked as she put it on. Sure, it looked pretty, but did actually do anything useful?

"It what female explorers wear around here instead of badges. Er, but I mean if you're like, for lack of a better word, a tomboy, I can give you a badge instead," Falio said as politely as he could manage.

"Yea, I'd rather use a badge. Lots of people say I'm a tomboy, which I'm fine with," Maya said as she tookoff her bow and handed it back to Falio. "It comes from many things. My love for adventure is one of them. However, one of the biggest things is from my social like. Unlike most of the girls, I was never too interested in finding a guy. Granted, I'm not into girls, I just think that love will find ME." _Well, it seems her and I have one thing in common,_ Falio thought.

"What!? The girls where you come from chase the guys? Talk about a role reversal!" Shino yelled out. Maya laughed.

"I know right? I always thought it was weird! I mean, after that point, the guy takes control of everything! It was the main reason I turned down every guy who came up to me! You get ALOT of proposals when you're a princess. Most of them were power hungry, while others from my childhood actually cared. It was sweet of those guys, but I wanted to marry somewhere where I wouldn't virtually become a slave!" At this point, the group began to walk to the dungeon. It was quite a long walk so they were prepared to set up camp when it got dark.

"Woah, that's some story alright! Can't imagine how tiring the whole situation got after a long time," Falio said.

"Oh you have NO idea! It just got so old that I locked myself in my room for as long as possible each day. I avoided public areas as much as possible. Being a princess isn't easy. You get way too much attention. Luckily, I avoided becoming a spoiled brat like my sister. I mean, she just thinks she's the best thing in the world! She acts like she is Arceus's gift to the world!" Wow, to Falio and Shino, Maya's sister sounded like the world's biggest brat! Talk about polar opposites!

After a couple more hours of walking, it became clear that they wouldn't reach the dungeon on that day. Good thing Shino and Falio knew how to live off the land for a night. Plus, it would give them a chance to teach maya a thing or two. After all, what could the piplup possibly know coming from a huge castle?

"Well, we need to set up camp," Shino said, pointing out the growing darkness in the sky.

"Right, need to conserve our energy for tomorrow." Falio agreed as he got some items out of the treasure bag. Maya, meanwhile, didn't quite understand.

"So, uh, where are we going to stay? I don't see a house or anything for us to stay in." Falio and Shino laughed. Then, Maya realized what they meant. "Wait, we're gonna sleep out here!? Oh man, that sounds cool!" Falio was surprised, it wasn't the reaction he was expecting. Quickly, the group gathered fire wood, and using a new item someone in the village created, called a 'fire lighter', he set the wood ablaze. As if magic, the fire wood was engulfed in flame instantly.

"Huh, so the thing works just like the traveling merchant said! Quite amazing, I wonder how it works..." Falio wondered. You see, he had a tendency to want to analyze new and fascinating technology. He just loved to know what made things tick. Shino chuckled.

"Entering nerd mode again, Falio?" The totodile asked. Falio rolled his eyes before putting the item back in the treasure bag. Meanwhile, it had seemed that Maya had already fallen asleep.

"Huh, wondered what got her so tired," Falio said.

"Well, I mean, she probably hasn't done that much walking in a day ever. So, I'm not really surprised. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that she is a new member of the team. Something we had been trying to get for awhile now. Plus, she's the fricking princess! I mean, you can't get much cooler than that!" Falio glared at Shino. "What?"

"Quiet down, we're in bandit territory, and i'd rather not have to fight off a gang of bandits right now. I'm awfully tired myself to be honest." Falio yawned. Shino smiled at his friend, typical, he always got tired first. perhaps it had something to do with there not being any sun during the night. Yeah, that was probably it.

"I'll take watch as usual." Falio nodded before laying down.

"Hey, no funny business, 'kay?" Falio said before he fell asleep.

"Wasn't considering it," Shino said, understanding what his friend was joking about.


	2. The First Dungeon

**Gosh, talk about a rocky start on the last chapter. Looking back, I feel I could've made it alot better.**

CHAPTER 1: The First Dungeon

Maya, surprisingly, woke up before Falio. When she got up, she saw Shino coming back from somwhere, supposedly watch out patrols. How was he able to stay up so long and not be tired? "How are you not exhausted?" The piplup asked the Totodile.

"Well, it's in my blood. My father was part of a hunting pack that hunted at night. Sometimes, they went for WEEKS without sleeping. At least, that's what mother told me, before she..." A tear formed in his left eye. "before she died. I was too young to remember what attacked us, but I still remember what mother told me. I remember things I wish I didn't either." Now Maya felt bad, she didn't mean to bring back painful memories!

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make you rememb-"

"NO! Don't apologize, ever, I must not forget. That way someday, I may remember who killed mother. Then, I'll serve them some justice! They'll regret the day they attacked us!" Honestly, Shino was starting to scare Maya. She made a mental note to never make Shino mad. However, she felt something different as well. A new feeling she hadn't really ever felt before. A desire to help a friend with all of her being.

"Well, I guess it doesn't hurt to have a purpose for your travels. Honestly, I've never said anything like this before, but if you find them, invite me to the party." Shino nodded then the two high fived. Then, they heard a chuckle from behind them. They turned to see Falio, who had just woken up.

"So, I see you two have become fast friends," The snivy said as he walked up to them. "So, I guess we should get going? We're burning daylight!" Shino and Maya nodded as they once again set off on the path. Falio guessed they'd arrive at the dungeon by noon as long as they kept a steady pace. Which they were determined to do. No one really talked, as it may slow them down. Finally, just around noon, they reached the dungeon's entrance.

The dungeon's entrance itself was something to behold. It was situated inside of a cliff, with stone steps going up to the entrance. There were also crystals that jutted out. They sparkled in the sunlight beautifully. Still admiring the entrance's beauty, the group began to walk up the stairs. "So, what are mystery dungeons like anyways?" Maya asked. The question stopped Falio and Shino in their tracks. They were total idiots in their minds, they had completely forgotten to explain mystery dungeons to Maya!

"Well, they are very complex so my explaination may take awhile. Anyways, mystery dungeons are completely random each time you enter them. There are multiple floors, the goal is to find the stairs on the floor. However, if you faint in a dungeon while you have no reviver seeds on you, yor team get transported to the entrance. You'll lose all your money and half your items as well." Falio explained.

Woah, that was alot for Maya to take in! Heck, it was almost TOO much, talk about an information overload. As much as she hated to admit it, Maya had trouble taking in large amounts of information at once. Whenever she tried to, it kind of hurt her head. However, as she was getting older, it was only getting worse. "Gyah! That's alot... to... take in..." Maya said while clearly in pain. She was holding her head with her flippers for some reason. A worried look appeared on Falio and Shino's face. Then, Maya fell over the side of the steps they were on. As they were decently high up, a fall like that wouldn't be very survivable.

Luckily, Shino had a fast reaction time. Almost as soon as she fell, he was there, holding onto one of her flippers. "Hey, Falio, I could use some help! She isn't as light as she looks!" Falio quickly helped pulled Maya back up. She still appeared to be in pain, but it seemed to be going away. The Piplup slowly took her flippers off her head. Shino asked the obvious question.

"What in the world was that?" Maya took a moment to consider the question. In all honesty, she had no idea what it was. It had just always been a part of her, whenever she learned alot of new things at once, her head felt like it was going to burst!

"I have no idea, it happens when I learn alot of stuff. All at once, I can do it just fine if I have a break." Falio and Shino looked at each other before nodding at Maya. Boy, was teaching her the ins and outs of being an exploration going to be difficult. It seemed like it was going to be difficult enough to explain, and now they have this issue to deal with! "Anyways, I'm fine, let's just enter the dungeon. What was it called, Mystery Cave? Gee, what an uncreative name."

Falio and Shino had to agree with her. Whoever named this place was REALLY digging in the bottom of the barrel! Either way, the group entered the dungeon. When they did, they noticed they were in a fairly small room. The walls in the dungeon looked just like the cliff the entrance was on, which made sense. There also happened to be a geodude in the room. Noticing the trespassers on its territory it charged at them.

"I got this!" Maya yelled as she took a battle stance. The geodude stopped for a moment to eye his opponent. Then, Maya readied her attack. Both of her flippers glew silver while they also extended. The geodude laughed, a physical attack? What good would that do? Geodude prepared a rollout and launched at Maya. Shino was ready to attack if needed, but what he saw astounded him. As the geodude charged, Maya put up her metal claws in an X formation in front of her.

When geodude impacted, he found himself nearly stopped in his tracks. Once he completely stopped, Maya broke the X formation and pushed the geodude back in the process. Now there was a bit of a stare, both Falio and Shino wondered who would make the next move. Their answer was in the unexpected variety. "Boo," Maya said. Strangely enough, the geodude fled from us. The other pokèmon he went by looked at him then at us. They decided to not take any chances and didn't attack.

After about a minute, Shino bust out laughing. "That was PRICELESS Maya! Did you see the look on his face?!" Falio had to agree, it was quite hilarious, however now was not the time to joke around.

"Look, I agree it was very funny, but now isn't the time to mess around. That pidove needs help!"Falio said revealing what the client was. Shino and Maya nodded as they continued through the floor. Due to the incident with the geodude, they had very little resistance along the way. Soon, they reached what, according to the map Falio was making as they walked, had to be the last room on the floor.

"Hey, is that the stairs?" Maya asked while pointing to something in the far corner. Falio and Shino nodded as the group began to walk to the corner.

"Yep, sure is, nice job, Maya," Shino said, patting Maya on the shoulder. Falio didn't quite get it, all she did was find the stairs. That really wasn't even that hard to do in all honesty. It just required looking around. Perhaps Shino was just trying to make her feel welcome to the team. If so, he was most likely doing a great job! Now, the team walked down the stairs, deeper into the dungeon.

The next floor started similarly to the last one. However, the foes they encountered were alot more fierce. Not a single one of them backed down until they were defeated. By the end of the floor, Maya was a bit tired. "Geez, exploring is alot more tiring when your opponent doesn't back down," She said. Falio and Shino nodded in agreement with her.

Surprisingly, when they went down the stairs they found themselves in a circular room. The end of the dungeon already? How did the Pidove get trapped at the end of the dungeon? Dungeons always had a panel that took you out of the dungeon. "Ah, I see the pidove!"Shino said. Falio and Maya followed his look, and sure enough, there was a Pidove cowering in the corner. They began to walk up to it, but they were stopped by a sound. There was a bright flash and a high tune that hurt their ears.

"Go away... now, I shall not let anyone take my meal away from me!" The voice shouted.

"Who are you!? Show yourself!" Falio shouted back. There was another bright flash before a figure appeared. Once the trio could see again, they gasped in shock and awe. The being looked just like Falio; for Falio, it was like he was looking into a mirror. Shino and Maya looked shocked, but Falio had a smirk on his face. "I had no clue that any ditto existed anymore. I thought the last of them died along with the humans." Falio seemed to have hurt the ditto's feelings.

"That they did, but that is why I kill. I can live forever with food, I'm the last one, so it's my responsibility to keep the legacy going. Since, no other dittos will ever be born, it's just not in my biology. The humans... they did it on purpose; they wanted to keep our numbers in check." The ditto was now very clearly crying. Shino, Falio, Maya and even the Pidove felt only one emotion for the ditto: pity.

"Why don't you leave this place and gather fruit and berries to live off of?" Maya asked. The ditto shook his head.

"I can't I was made, gene by gene in a lab, therefore, I am not genetically a pokèmon. I'm a weapon made by humans, so the teleporter doesn't work for me. No exploration teams have ever been kind enough to take me out of the dungeon with them." After hearing this, Falio extended a hand and smiled. Meanwhile, Shino used his badge to send Pidove back to HQ. Ditto grabbed Falio's hand as they left the dungeon. Ditto just couldn't believe it, after all of these years, he was finally out!

"Thank you so much!" Ditto said before sprinting off to go enjoy the world. Finally, he'd never have to kill someone out of any reason other than self defense. It was like a dream come true for him! Maya smiled as he ran off, it felt good to help people. Joining Shino and Falio was most certainly not a bad idea. Good thing she chose them and not some other, potentially boring teams. Plus, these two were a rare case, even though they knew hertitle, they treated her like she was a normal person, and she liked that about them.

"Thank you for saving me, as promised here is your reward," Pidove said as he handed the group the promised items. Then, as he began to wal off, he looked as though he got an idea. "Here's a little something extra for helping the ditto. He can't pay you, so I will pay in his place! I found this in the dungeon!" Pidove handed Falio a disc like object before flying off, Falio just stared at the object in awe.

"It's a TM! I haven't seen one of these in ages! Says here that it teaches Ice Beam," Falio said. As soon as she heard that, Maya was just as excited as Falio.

"Ice Beam!? Mother loves using that move! Oh, Falio, you've just GOT to let me use it!" Maya said. Then, she did something neither Falio or Shino expected, she made a bit of a begging face. Was that her way of getting what she wanted? Ah, who was he kidding, there was no way Falio could resist that cute of a face! Wait, he did a double take in his own mind. "Cute" face? _Get a hold of yourself Falio, cute or not, she is STILL the darn princess!_ He told himself before giving Maya the TM. She put the device to her forehead and the data was sucked into her mind. Then, she tested the move. What appeared to be a bolt of ice shot out of her beak, incasing a pile of berries in ice.

"Woah, nice job Maya," Falio and Shino said. Then, they noticed that it was starting to get dark. Hmmm, they'd need to go to sleep soon to be ready to teach Maya in the morning. "Well, we better get to sleeping, you got some more training tomorrow," Falio said. Maya and Shino nodded as Shino and Falio began to go to their houses, Maya was quite confused about who to go with.

"Uhh, who do i go with?" Maya asked the two. They looked at her then each other. Falio nodded and so did Shino.

"Well, you can't come with me to the HQ, there is only one bed there." Maya nodded and followed Shino. She assumed that he would have a spare bed for her to sleep on. That or he was willing to give up his bed for the night. She hoped it was the former because she wouldn't want to have to sleep on the ground, but she wasn't about to share a bed with him either. Soon, they arrived at a small home. It was fairly simple, but at the same time, it wasn't a tiny home. Also, it was above water, and being near water always soothed Maya for some reason. She supposed it had to do with her being a water type and all. As she had expected, Shino went over to one side of the room and pulled a lever. Then, the shelf that protruded from the wall went into the wall and where the shelf was there was now a bed. Maya laid down, already feeling comfy in the hay bed. Well, it wasn't as comfy as her fancy bed, but it was a heck of a lot better than the ground!

"You know, I really had a lot of fun in that dungeon today," Maya said, Shino remained quiet either by sleep or just of politeness. "I mean, scaring that geodude was tons of fun, and even though it was tiring, the other floor of the dungeon was just as fun. Hopefully tomorrow can be just as fun, but who am I kidding? Tomorrow is just basic around town training, that won't be nearly as fun as the dungeon. Ah well, I guess I better get to sleep." With that Maya fell asleep. However, Shino was still awake.

 _Yea, sadly tomorrow won't be as fun. However, I'm sure the next day we'll go on a mission, and we'll be sure to bring Maya along! Even if she would be a hindrance, 'cuz that's what friends are for. We bring them along even if they hurt us more than they help._ Shino thought as he to fell asleep.

 _The next morning..._

Falio woke up a little late that morning. So, instead of doing his usual morning routine, he went straight to the mailbox, inside was something he had not gotten in awhile. He quickly gathered all the materials he needed before running off down the path to the dungeon he had to go to. He also left a note on the mailbox for Shino and Maya, otherwise the two would most likely worry about where he went off to, and Falio didn't want that. As soon as Falio left, Maya woke up at that time, however, Shino was still asleep. She found it a bit odd, she expected him to wake up before her due to his ability to go for long periods of time with no sleep.

Soon, Shino woke up as well, with a yawn and stretch, he looked over to see Maya, who was already awake. "Good morning!" Shino said, greeting Maya. Maya nodded and stood up, walking over to the door. She looked out the door and looked at where the house was. Due to it being dark yesterday, she hadn't gotten a good look at the surrounding areas yet. Now that she could, she was in absolute awe. The place where they had come from was between two cliffs. These cliffs formed a circle around the house. on these cliffs, there were many waterfalls, due to those waterfalls it formed a lake at the base of the cliffs. Maya assumed there was a cave the water drained into to stop it from overflowing, but it didn't matter. The scenery was still amazing.

"This place is beautiful!" Maya commented, with a bit of a sparkle in her eye. Shino laughed.

"It is isn't it? I had forgotten that this morning would be your first time seeing it. Yea, I have to admit it, the scenery was the main reason I chose this place to build my house. Even after I retire as an explorer, I think I'd like to live here. I mean, if I ever have a family, I got plenty of room to expand the house," Shino said. Honestly, with how Shino was treating her so far, nice and being open with his plans and such; she was surprised that he hadn't found anyone yet.

"So, you don't have anyone yet? I have to admit, that kind of surprises me," Maya said.

"Well, you know, I wouldn't pick just any girl as my mate, even if she had the looks of a goddess, if she is a witch on the inside, then I'd rather not be involved. Er, can we move on and get started with your training? I don't really like talking about my love life; especially with a girl." Maya nodded as she began to walk down the path. perhaps she had gone a little bit too far; she should've respected his privacy a bit more.

Once they got to the HQ, they saw a slip of paper on the mailbox, Shino picked it up. It was a note from Falio. "Sorry Maya, your training had been delayed. Falio needs our help, he may not realize it now, but he does."

 **AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm glad that I thought up the Ditto. I have pages of backstory for the world so I need to get onto telling it early. XD**


End file.
